US20080094218A1 - Methods and Apparatus for Detecting and Identifying Improper Antitheft Device Deactivation - Google Patents
Methods and Apparatus for Detecting and Identifying Improper Antitheft Device Deactivation Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20080094218A1 US20080094218A1 US11/552,174 US55217406A US2008094218A1 US 20080094218 A1 US20080094218 A1 US 20080094218A1 US 55217406 A US55217406 A US 55217406A US 2008094218 A1 US2008094218 A1 US 2008094218A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- deactivation
- product
- information
- security tag
- entry
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 230000009849 deactivation Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 138
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 33
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 27
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 20
- 238000004806 packaging method and process Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000002304 perfume Substances 0.000 description 5
- 238000011835 investigation Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000004913 activation Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000000977 initiatory effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000013475 authorization Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007774 longterm Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012795 verification Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07G—REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS
- G07G1/00—Cash registers
- G07G1/0036—Checkout procedures
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07G—REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS
- G07G1/00—Cash registers
- G07G1/0036—Checkout procedures
- G07G1/0045—Checkout procedures with a code reader for reading of an identifying code of the article to be registered, e.g. barcode reader or radio-frequency identity [RFID] reader
- G07G1/009—Checkout procedures with a code reader for reading of an identifying code of the article to be registered, e.g. barcode reader or radio-frequency identity [RFID] reader the reader being an RFID reader
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07G—REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS
- G07G1/00—Cash registers
- G07G1/12—Cash registers electronically operated
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07G—REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS
- G07G3/00—Alarm indicators, e.g. bells
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B13/00—Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
- G08B13/22—Electrical actuation
- G08B13/24—Electrical actuation by interference with electromagnetic field distribution
- G08B13/2402—Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS], i.e. systems using tags for detecting removal of a tagged item from a secure area, e.g. tags for detecting shoplifting
- G08B13/2451—Specific applications combined with EAS
- G08B13/246—Check out systems combined with EAS, e.g. price information stored on EAS tag
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to improvements to retail point of sale systems. More particularly, the invention relates to improved systems and techniques for detecting deactivation of antitheft devices and appropriately identifying improper deactivations.
- Self service checkout systems are widely used in retailing, and provide opportunities for significant labor savings by merchants. However, the use of such systems, unless properly managed, provides increased opportunities for theft by unscrupulous customers. In order to provide for efficient and profitable use and customer satisfaction, self service systems must be able to reduce opportunities for undetected theft while avoiding excessive referral of transactions to human operators. In addition, employee operated checkout systems may also provide opportunities for an unscrupulous customer to engage in theft by altering product identification or security features of products or their packaging without detection by an employee operating a checkout station.
- Security tags are often used on high priced or easily concealed products, but may be used on any desired product.
- a tag is affixed to a product or its packaging in such a way that the tag is difficult to remove. The tag typically triggers an alarm when carried past a checkpoint unless it is first deactivated.
- Security tags are typically deactivated by passing them through a magnetic field generated by a deactivation device.
- the magnetic field through which the tags pass may extend some distance, such as several inches, from the deactivation device.
- One way for a thief to steal a high priced product is by concealing the product within a larger, typically lower cost, product. For example, a thief might conceal a personal audio player inside a substantially larger product, such as a storage container.
- Self checkout systems typically include weight matching features in order to detect attempts at theft. Such weight matching allows for deviations, within some tolerance, between a weight reading and an expected weight.
- the checkout station includes a deactivation device that is always operating or that operates whenever a product is entered into a transaction, the thief may purchase the suitcase and deactivate a tag affixed to the personal audio player concealed within the suitcase. The thief would be able to deactivate the tag without detection and without entering the personal audio player into the transaction.
- Another strategy used by thieves is to falsify a bar code attached to a product presented for purchase. Such falsification may be accomplished by creating a false bar code, or by taking a bar code from another product.
- the falsified bar code typically identifies a product having a similar weight to, but a lower price than, the product to which the bar code is fraudulently attached. Such a scheme allows a customer to fraudulently avoid paying the correct price for the product.
- the present invention addresses such difficulties by providing an automatic mechanism for detecting deactivations of security tags during a transaction and associating each detection of a deactivation with the product being entered into a transaction.
- Each of a plurality of self service and employee operated checkout stations may be used to enter product information into transactions and deactivate security tags when necessary.
- a centralized repository of product information is maintained, with records being maintained and stored relating to the presence or absence of security tags for each product.
- Such records may include explicit identifications of products as bearing or lacking security tags.
- records may reflect the result of a learning process. In such a learning process, a deactivation count may be kept for each product, with the deactivation count being the number of deactivations detected in association with purchases of the product.
- a retailer employee investigating a transaction may simply enter a notation that a product bears or does not bear a security tag, if this information is known. Such an entry would typically terminate the learning process, and cause the product information to be updated with the entered information relating to the presence or absence of a tag.
- product information is examined and evaluated to determine if the product is expected to bear a security tag. If the product information does not indicate that the product is expected to bear a security tag, an alert is issued to a retailer employee, allowing the employee to investigate the transaction, and also to update the product information to indicate whether or not a tag should be expected to be present, if this information is known to or easily determined by the employee.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a checkout station according to an aspect of the present invention
- FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate the steps of a process of transaction processing and deactivation detection and analysis according to an aspect of the present invention.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a checkout station 100 according to an aspect of the present invention.
- the checkout station 100 includes a transaction processing device 102 which in turn includes a user interface 104 and a remote interface 105 , as well as data processing elements including a processor 106 , high speed memory 108 and long term storage such as a hard disk 110 .
- the user interface 104 includes a keypad 112 , a display 114 and a payment acceptor 116 , allowing a customer to tender payment by one or more of various means such as cash, a check, a credit card, debit card, gift card, or the like.
- the various components of the transaction processing device 102 may suitably communicate with one another and with additional devices using a bus 117 and connections provided thereby.
- the checkout station 100 employs a transaction processing module 120 , suitably implemented as software hosted on the hard disk 110 and transferred to high speed memory 108 as needed for execution by the processor 106 .
- the transaction processing module 120 receives user inputs and product information, such as scanned bar code information, product weight, and stored product information, in order to carry out transactions.
- the transaction processing module 120 may retrieve stored product identification, such as product identification and price information, from a product information database 122 , suitably hosted on a remote device, such as a server 124 .
- the checkout station 100 suitably communicates with the server 124 through a local area network (LAN) 126 .
- the transaction processing module 120 may also direct the sending and receiving of financial information, such as credit and debit card authorization and check verification, through a remote device such as the server 124 .
- LAN local area network
- the checkout station 100 further includes a scanner 128 and a security tag deactivator 130 .
- the deactivator 130 may be embedded within the scanner 128 , and may suitably include a deactivation field generator 132 , a deactivation pad 134 from which a deactivation field produced by the generator 130 is emitted, and a deactivation sensor 136 .
- the field acts to deactivate security coding characterizing the security tag.
- the deactivation causes detectable perturbations of the deactivation field, and these perturbations can be sensed by the deactivation sensor 136 .
- the operation of the security tag deactivator 130 is controlled and monitored by a deactivation control module 138 .
- the deactivation control module 138 is shown here as being hosted on the hard disk 110 and executed by the processor 106 , but may alternatively be stored and executed using data processing hardware implemented as part of the deactivator 126 .
- the deactivation control module 138 suitably receives information indicating the sensing of perturbations by the deactivation sensor 136 , and interprets the information to identify occurrences of tag deactivations. Whenever a tag deactivation is detected, a tag deactivation indicator is passed to the transaction processing module 120 .
- the security tag deactivator 130 is activated when a product is scanned or otherwise entered into a transaction.
- the transaction processing module 120 passes an indication of a successful entry to the deactivation control module 138 .
- the deactivation control module 138 directs activation of the security tag deactivator 130 and receives and interprets any incoming information relating to perturbations of the deactivation field in order to detect deactivation of a tag. If deactivation of a tag is detected, the deactivation control module 138 passes a tag deactivation indicator to the transaction processing module 120 .
- the transaction processing module 120 Upon receiving a tag deactivation indicator after product identification information has been entered into a transaction, for example, through scanning a bar code or through manual entry of information, the transaction processing module 120 examines information for the product to determine whether or not a security tag deactivation is to be expected for the product.
- the information may suitably be stored in the product information database 122 hosted on the server 124 .
- the product information suitably includes product identification and pricing information.
- the product information suitably includes information relating to the expected presence or absence of security tags on a product.
- the product information relating to the presence or absence of security tags may include information relating to one or more of numerous different conditions that may be evaluated to determine if a deactivation is to be expected.
- stored information for a product may include an explicit notation as to whether or not the product or its packaging bears a security tag.
- detected security tag deactivations may be tracked for each product.
- a stored record or entry for each product may therefore include a deactivation count indicating the number of times a security tag deactivation has been detected in association with a presentation of that for entry into a transaction. If the deactivation count does not meet a predefined threshold, a deactivation may be identified as unexpected.
- an alert is suitably issued to a retailer employee to investigate the transaction.
- the retailer employee may also determine whether or not the product that was entered into the transaction bears a security tag, so that a security tag deactivation is to be expected.
- the retailer employee may suitably make an appropriate entry using the interface 102 , and the stored information for the product is updated to reflect the information entered by the retailer employee. For example, an entry may be made indicating that the product does not bear a security tag and that any deactivation is to be investigated, or that the product does bear a tag and that a deactivation is not suspicious.
- a dishonest customer has concealed a personal audio player bearing a security tag inside a storage container that does not bear a security tag.
- the customer takes the storage container to a self-checkout station and scans a bar code attached to the storage container.
- Information for the storage container is entered into the transaction, and the transaction processing module 120 passes a notification of the transaction entry to the deactivation control module 138 .
- the deactivation control module 138 directs activation of the deactivator 130 .
- the customer passes the storage container over the deactivation pad 134 , and the security tag attached to the personal audio player is deactivated because the field produced by the deactivation field generator 132 passes through the storage container to reach the security tag affixed to the audio player concealed inside the storage container.
- the deactivation of the security tag causes a perturbation in the deactivation field. This perturbation is sensed by the deactivation sensor 136 .
- the deactivation sensor 136 identifies a tag deactivation and passes an appropriate indicator to the deactivation control module 138 .
- the deactivation control module deactivates the security tag deactivator 130 and passes to the transaction processing module 120 an indication that a security tag deactivation has been detected.
- the transaction processing module 120 retrieves information relating to the storage container from the product information database 122 . Suppose that the information does not include any explicit notation as to the presence or absence of a security tag. The transaction processing module 120 then further examines the information to determine whether an entry for the storage container includes a deactivation count, comparing the value of the deactivation count against a predetermined threshold number. In the present exemplary case, the threshold number is 5. No previous tag deactivations have been detected in conjunction with the purchase of the storage container, so an alert is issued to a retailer employee to investigate the transaction. The retailer employee examines the storage container and discovers the concealed audio player. The retailer employee further inspects the storage container to determine whether a security tag is affixed to the storage container. In the present exemplary case, no security tag is affixed to the storage container.
- the detected deactivation resulted from a deactivation of the security tag affixed to the audio player, not from any security tag affixed to the storage container. If the retailer employee knows, or can easily determine, that no security tag is associated with the storage container, the employee may enter a notation in the product information for the storage container that no security tag is to be associated with the storage container. If this information is not known, the employee may simply make an entry indicating that the detected security tag deactivation was not legitimate, so that the transaction processing module 120 will not count a deactivation associated with the storage container and therefore will not create or increment a deactivation count associated with the storage container.
- the transaction processing module 120 examines the product information and detects that no deactivation count has been created for this product.
- the transaction processing module 120 may either issue a security alert or, optionally, silently learn that the previously unobserved item contains a security tag and issue no alert. Such learning may be accomplished by taking appropriate considerations into account. For example, if a product, such as the perfume of the present example has a relatively high price, the transaction processing module 120 may recognize a relatively high likelihood that such a product will bear a security tag and recognize that the presence of a security tag is to be expected.
- the transaction processing module 120 updates the product information to create a deactivation count for the product, with a value of “1,” and stores the updated value in the product information database 122 . Whenever the identical perfume is presented for purchase, with the deactivation count being incremented each time, until the deactivation count has reached a predefined threshold. After this threshold has been reached, the transaction processing module 120 no longer issues a security alert when a deactivation is detected in association with a presentation of the perfume for purchase.
- FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate the steps of a process 200 of transaction processing and security tag deactivation analysis according to an aspect of the present invention.
- the illustration of the process spans multiple figures for ease of viewing.
- product information relating to each of a plurality of products offered for sale by a retailer is stored, suitably in a product information database.
- the product information includes a record for each unique category of product offered for sale. Categories may include a unit of a product belonging to a specific brand and model, such as a video disc recorder. Other categories may include a package containing a specified quantity of a particular product, such as a factory sealed package of 25 recordable videodiscs. Numerous other categories may be defined, with information stored for each category.
- the product information may also include information relating to the presence or absence of security tags on the product or on the product's packaging. This information may include explicit notations that a product bears or does not bear a security tag. Alternatively or in addition, the information may include records of detected security tag deactivations associated with transactions involving the product.
- a transaction is opened.
- entry of transaction information or commands is awaited. Entry of transaction information may include entry of product information for entry into a transaction. Entry of commands may include an indication that no additional transaction entries are to be made. If a command has been entered indicating that no additional transaction entries are to be made, the process skips to step 250 . Otherwise, the process proceeds to step 208 .
- step 208 upon presentation of transaction information for a product, the product information, as well as additional relevant product information retrieved from a central storage source, is entered into the transaction.
- step 210 upon entry of the product information into the transaction, a security tag deactivator is activated.
- step 212 phenomena such as deactivation field perturbations are sensed in order to determine whether a security tag deactivation has occurred. If no deactivation has occurred within a designated time, the process skips to step 230 and the security tag deactivator is deactivated. The process then returns to step 206 .
- step 212 if no deactivation has occurred, but transaction entry for a product is presented before the designated time expires, the process skips to step 232 , the security tag deactivator is deactivated and the process returns to step 208 .
- step 214 product information for the product is examined to determine whether or not the product is expected to bear a security tag.
- information may include a specific designation or a record of how many detected deactivations have been associated with the product, and may also include information useful for automated learning, for example, whether the price and size information for the product indicates whether the product is more or less likely to bear a security tag, and the examination and analysis using such information may include automated learning if the number of detected deactivations is small, or if no previous deactivation has been detected for the product.
- step 206 If the product information, and the examination and analysis of the information, indicates that a security tag deactivation is expected, the process returns to step 206 . If the product information indicates that the product is not expected to bear a tag, indicating that a security tag deactivation may be illegitimate, the process proceeds to step 216 . At step 216 , an alert is issued to an employee, requesting the employee to investigate the transaction.
- step 218 upon employee investigation of the transaction and entry of appropriate information, the decision is made to proceed with or to abort the transaction, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
- the product information for the product is updated according to any entries made by the employee. For example, an employee may make an entry explicitly defining a security tag deactivation for the product as expected or unexpected, or may make an entry allowing or preventing the addition of recognition of a deactivation to a running tally of such recognitions in association with the product.
- the process skips to step 260 .
- step 260 the transaction is cleared. The process then terminates at step 262 . If the transaction has not been aborted, the process returns to step 206 .
- Step 250 is, as noted above, reached from step 206 once an indication has been received that no additional transactions are to be made.
- an itemized bill or receipt is prepared for presentation to the customer and payment is accepted from the customer.
- the presentation of the bill or receipt and acceptance of payment may be accomplished manually in the case of employee operated stations or automatically in the case of self checkout stations.
- the process then returns to step 204 upon initiation of a new transaction, for example, by a new customer.
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates generally to improvements to retail point of sale systems. More particularly, the invention relates to improved systems and techniques for detecting deactivation of antitheft devices and appropriately identifying improper deactivations.
- Self service checkout systems are widely used in retailing, and provide opportunities for significant labor savings by merchants. However, the use of such systems, unless properly managed, provides increased opportunities for theft by unscrupulous customers. In order to provide for efficient and profitable use and customer satisfaction, self service systems must be able to reduce opportunities for undetected theft while avoiding excessive referral of transactions to human operators. In addition, employee operated checkout systems may also provide opportunities for an unscrupulous customer to engage in theft by altering product identification or security features of products or their packaging without detection by an employee operating a checkout station.
- One commonly used mechanism for preventing costly thefts is the use of security tags. Security tags are often used on high priced or easily concealed products, but may be used on any desired product. A tag is affixed to a product or its packaging in such a way that the tag is difficult to remove. The tag typically triggers an alarm when carried past a checkpoint unless it is first deactivated.
- Security tags are typically deactivated by passing them through a magnetic field generated by a deactivation device. The magnetic field through which the tags pass may extend some distance, such as several inches, from the deactivation device. One way for a thief to steal a high priced product is by concealing the product within a larger, typically lower cost, product. For example, a thief might conceal a personal audio player inside a substantially larger product, such as a storage container. Self checkout systems typically include weight matching features in order to detect attempts at theft. Such weight matching allows for deviations, within some tolerance, between a weight reading and an expected weight. If a smaller product is concealed within a substantially larger product, in this case, the personal audio player within the storage container, the deviation in weight reading caused by the presence of the smaller product may not be detected by a weight matching feature. If the checkout station includes a deactivation device that is always operating or that operates whenever a product is entered into a transaction, the thief may purchase the suitcase and deactivate a tag affixed to the personal audio player concealed within the suitcase. The thief would be able to deactivate the tag without detection and without entering the personal audio player into the transaction.
- Another strategy used by thieves is to falsify a bar code attached to a product presented for purchase. Such falsification may be accomplished by creating a false bar code, or by taking a bar code from another product. The falsified bar code typically identifies a product having a similar weight to, but a lower price than, the product to which the bar code is fraudulently attached. Such a scheme allows a customer to fraudulently avoid paying the correct price for the product.
- The present invention addresses such difficulties by providing an automatic mechanism for detecting deactivations of security tags during a transaction and associating each detection of a deactivation with the product being entered into a transaction. Each of a plurality of self service and employee operated checkout stations may be used to enter product information into transactions and deactivate security tags when necessary. A centralized repository of product information is maintained, with records being maintained and stored relating to the presence or absence of security tags for each product. Such records may include explicit identifications of products as bearing or lacking security tags. As an alternative or in addition, records may reflect the result of a learning process. In such a learning process, a deactivation count may be kept for each product, with the deactivation count being the number of deactivations detected in association with purchases of the product. Until a predetermined number of deactivations has been detected, the detection of a deactivation in connection with an entry of a product into a transaction may give rise to investigation, but once that predetermined number of deactivations has been detected, a subsequent deactivation may be deemed not to call for an investigation. In order to enhance or shorten the learning process, a retailer employee investigating a transaction may simply enter a notation that a product bears or does not bear a security tag, if this information is known. Such an entry would typically terminate the learning process, and cause the product information to be updated with the entered information relating to the presence or absence of a tag.
- When a product is presented for entry into a transaction and a deactivation of a security tag is detected, product information is examined and evaluated to determine if the product is expected to bear a security tag. If the product information does not indicate that the product is expected to bear a security tag, an alert is issued to a retailer employee, allowing the employee to investigate the transaction, and also to update the product information to indicate whether or not a tag should be expected to be present, if this information is known to or easily determined by the employee.
- A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and the accompanying drawings.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a checkout station according to an aspect of the present invention; and -
FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate the steps of a process of transaction processing and deactivation detection and analysis according to an aspect of the present invention. -
FIG. 1 illustrates acheckout station 100 according to an aspect of the present invention. Thecheckout station 100 includes atransaction processing device 102 which in turn includes auser interface 104 and aremote interface 105, as well as data processing elements including aprocessor 106,high speed memory 108 and long term storage such as ahard disk 110. Theuser interface 104 includes akeypad 112, adisplay 114 and apayment acceptor 116, allowing a customer to tender payment by one or more of various means such as cash, a check, a credit card, debit card, gift card, or the like. The various components of thetransaction processing device 102 may suitably communicate with one another and with additional devices using abus 117 and connections provided thereby. - The
checkout station 100 employs atransaction processing module 120, suitably implemented as software hosted on thehard disk 110 and transferred tohigh speed memory 108 as needed for execution by theprocessor 106. Thetransaction processing module 120 receives user inputs and product information, such as scanned bar code information, product weight, and stored product information, in order to carry out transactions. Thetransaction processing module 120 may retrieve stored product identification, such as product identification and price information, from aproduct information database 122, suitably hosted on a remote device, such as aserver 124. Thecheckout station 100 suitably communicates with theserver 124 through a local area network (LAN) 126. Thetransaction processing module 120 may also direct the sending and receiving of financial information, such as credit and debit card authorization and check verification, through a remote device such as theserver 124. - The
checkout station 100 further includes ascanner 128 and asecurity tag deactivator 130. Thedeactivator 130 may be embedded within thescanner 128, and may suitably include adeactivation field generator 132, adeactivation pad 134 from which a deactivation field produced by thegenerator 130 is emitted, and adeactivation sensor 136. - When a security tag is brought within a deactivation field emitted by the
generator 132, the field acts to deactivate security coding characterizing the security tag. The deactivation causes detectable perturbations of the deactivation field, and these perturbations can be sensed by thedeactivation sensor 136. Suitably, the operation of thesecurity tag deactivator 130 is controlled and monitored by adeactivation control module 138. Thedeactivation control module 138 is shown here as being hosted on thehard disk 110 and executed by theprocessor 106, but may alternatively be stored and executed using data processing hardware implemented as part of thedeactivator 126. - The
deactivation control module 138 suitably receives information indicating the sensing of perturbations by thedeactivation sensor 136, and interprets the information to identify occurrences of tag deactivations. Whenever a tag deactivation is detected, a tag deactivation indicator is passed to thetransaction processing module 120. - Typically, the
security tag deactivator 130 is activated when a product is scanned or otherwise entered into a transaction. Upon successful entry of a product into a transaction, thetransaction processing module 120 passes an indication of a successful entry to thedeactivation control module 138. Thedeactivation control module 138 directs activation of thesecurity tag deactivator 130 and receives and interprets any incoming information relating to perturbations of the deactivation field in order to detect deactivation of a tag. If deactivation of a tag is detected, thedeactivation control module 138 passes a tag deactivation indicator to thetransaction processing module 120. - Upon receiving a tag deactivation indicator after product identification information has been entered into a transaction, for example, through scanning a bar code or through manual entry of information, the
transaction processing module 120 examines information for the product to determine whether or not a security tag deactivation is to be expected for the product. The information may suitably be stored in theproduct information database 122 hosted on theserver 124. As noted above, the product information suitably includes product identification and pricing information. In addition, the product information suitably includes information relating to the expected presence or absence of security tags on a product. The product information relating to the presence or absence of security tags may include information relating to one or more of numerous different conditions that may be evaluated to determine if a deactivation is to be expected. - For example, stored information for a product may include an explicit notation as to whether or not the product or its packaging bears a security tag. Alternatively or in addition, detected security tag deactivations may be tracked for each product. A stored record or entry for each product may therefore include a deactivation count indicating the number of times a security tag deactivation has been detected in association with a presentation of that for entry into a transaction. If the deactivation count does not meet a predefined threshold, a deactivation may be identified as unexpected.
- When an unexpected deactivation is detected for a product, an alert is suitably issued to a retailer employee to investigate the transaction. In addition to investigating whether an attempted theft is taking place, the retailer employee may also determine whether or not the product that was entered into the transaction bears a security tag, so that a security tag deactivation is to be expected. The retailer employee may suitably make an appropriate entry using the
interface 102, and the stored information for the product is updated to reflect the information entered by the retailer employee. For example, an entry may be made indicating that the product does not bear a security tag and that any deactivation is to be investigated, or that the product does bear a tag and that a deactivation is not suspicious. - To take a specific example, suppose that a dishonest customer has concealed a personal audio player bearing a security tag inside a storage container that does not bear a security tag. The customer takes the storage container to a self-checkout station and scans a bar code attached to the storage container. Information for the storage container is entered into the transaction, and the
transaction processing module 120 passes a notification of the transaction entry to thedeactivation control module 138. Thedeactivation control module 138 directs activation of thedeactivator 130. The customer passes the storage container over thedeactivation pad 134, and the security tag attached to the personal audio player is deactivated because the field produced by thedeactivation field generator 132 passes through the storage container to reach the security tag affixed to the audio player concealed inside the storage container. - The deactivation of the security tag causes a perturbation in the deactivation field. This perturbation is sensed by the
deactivation sensor 136. Thedeactivation sensor 136 identifies a tag deactivation and passes an appropriate indicator to thedeactivation control module 138. The deactivation control module deactivates thesecurity tag deactivator 130 and passes to thetransaction processing module 120 an indication that a security tag deactivation has been detected. - The
transaction processing module 120 retrieves information relating to the storage container from theproduct information database 122. Suppose that the information does not include any explicit notation as to the presence or absence of a security tag. Thetransaction processing module 120 then further examines the information to determine whether an entry for the storage container includes a deactivation count, comparing the value of the deactivation count against a predetermined threshold number. In the present exemplary case, the threshold number is 5. No previous tag deactivations have been detected in conjunction with the purchase of the storage container, so an alert is issued to a retailer employee to investigate the transaction. The retailer employee examines the storage container and discovers the concealed audio player. The retailer employee further inspects the storage container to determine whether a security tag is affixed to the storage container. In the present exemplary case, no security tag is affixed to the storage container. - At this point, it can be presumed that the detected deactivation resulted from a deactivation of the security tag affixed to the audio player, not from any security tag affixed to the storage container. If the retailer employee knows, or can easily determine, that no security tag is associated with the storage container, the employee may enter a notation in the product information for the storage container that no security tag is to be associated with the storage container. If this information is not known, the employee may simply make an entry indicating that the detected security tag deactivation was not legitimate, so that the
transaction processing module 120 will not count a deactivation associated with the storage container and therefore will not create or increment a deactivation count associated with the storage container. - To take another example, suppose that a retailer has introduced a new brand of perfume with packaging bearing security tags. The retailer has entered product identification, price, and weight information into the
database 122, but has not entered any information about the presence or absence of security tags. When a customer legitimately presents the perfume for purchase and the tag is deactivated, thetransaction processing module 120 examines the product information and detects that no deactivation count has been created for this product. Thetransaction processing module 120 may either issue a security alert or, optionally, silently learn that the previously unobserved item contains a security tag and issue no alert. Such learning may be accomplished by taking appropriate considerations into account. For example, if a product, such as the perfume of the present example has a relatively high price, thetransaction processing module 120 may recognize a relatively high likelihood that such a product will bear a security tag and recognize that the presence of a security tag is to be expected. - In the case where an alert is issued, a retailer employee investigates the transaction, determines that the transaction and deactivation are legitimate, and makes an appropriate entry. In either case, the
transaction processing module 120 updates the product information to create a deactivation count for the product, with a value of “1,” and stores the updated value in theproduct information database 122. Whenever the identical perfume is presented for purchase, with the deactivation count being incremented each time, until the deactivation count has reached a predefined threshold. After this threshold has been reached, thetransaction processing module 120 no longer issues a security alert when a deactivation is detected in association with a presentation of the perfume for purchase. -
FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate the steps of aprocess 200 of transaction processing and security tag deactivation analysis according to an aspect of the present invention. The illustration of the process spans multiple figures for ease of viewing. Atstep 202, product information relating to each of a plurality of products offered for sale by a retailer is stored, suitably in a product information database. The product information includes a record for each unique category of product offered for sale. Categories may include a unit of a product belonging to a specific brand and model, such as a video disc recorder. Other categories may include a package containing a specified quantity of a particular product, such as a factory sealed package of 25 recordable videodiscs. Numerous other categories may be defined, with information stored for each category. The product information may also include information relating to the presence or absence of security tags on the product or on the product's packaging. This information may include explicit notations that a product bears or does not bear a security tag. Alternatively or in addition, the information may include records of detected security tag deactivations associated with transactions involving the product. - At
step 204, upon initiation of a transaction at a transaction processing station, a transaction is opened. Atstep 206, entry of transaction information or commands is awaited. Entry of transaction information may include entry of product information for entry into a transaction. Entry of commands may include an indication that no additional transaction entries are to be made. If a command has been entered indicating that no additional transaction entries are to be made, the process skips to step 250. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step 208. - At
step 208, upon presentation of transaction information for a product, the product information, as well as additional relevant product information retrieved from a central storage source, is entered into the transaction. Atstep 210, upon entry of the product information into the transaction, a security tag deactivator is activated. Atstep 212, phenomena such as deactivation field perturbations are sensed in order to determine whether a security tag deactivation has occurred. If no deactivation has occurred within a designated time, the process skips to step 230 and the security tag deactivator is deactivated. The process then returns to step 206. Returning to step 212, if no deactivation has occurred, but transaction entry for a product is presented before the designated time expires, the process skips to step 232, the security tag deactivator is deactivated and the process returns to step 208. - Returning again to step 212, if a deactivation is detected, the process proceeds to step 214. At
step 214, product information for the product is examined to determine whether or not the product is expected to bear a security tag. Such information may include a specific designation or a record of how many detected deactivations have been associated with the product, and may also include information useful for automated learning, for example, whether the price and size information for the product indicates whether the product is more or less likely to bear a security tag, and the examination and analysis using such information may include automated learning if the number of detected deactivations is small, or if no previous deactivation has been detected for the product. - If the product information, and the examination and analysis of the information, indicates that a security tag deactivation is expected, the process returns to step 206. If the product information indicates that the product is not expected to bear a tag, indicating that a security tag deactivation may be illegitimate, the process proceeds to step 216. At
step 216, an alert is issued to an employee, requesting the employee to investigate the transaction. - Next, at
step 218, upon employee investigation of the transaction and entry of appropriate information, the decision is made to proceed with or to abort the transaction, depending on the outcome of the investigation. Atstep 220, the product information for the product is updated according to any entries made by the employee. For example, an employee may make an entry explicitly defining a security tag deactivation for the product as expected or unexpected, or may make an entry allowing or preventing the addition of recognition of a deactivation to a running tally of such recognitions in association with the product. If the transaction has been aborted, the process skips to step 260. Atstep 260, the transaction is cleared. The process then terminates atstep 262. If the transaction has not been aborted, the process returns to step 206. - Step 250 is, as noted above, reached from
step 206 once an indication has been received that no additional transactions are to be made. Atstep 250, an itemized bill or receipt is prepared for presentation to the customer and payment is accepted from the customer. The presentation of the bill or receipt and acceptance of payment may be accomplished manually in the case of employee operated stations or automatically in the case of self checkout stations. The process then returns to step 204 upon initiation of a new transaction, for example, by a new customer. - While the present invention is disclosed in the context of a presently preferred embodiment, it will be recognized that a wide variety of implementations may be employed by persons of ordinary skill in the art consistent with the above discussion and the claims which follow below.
Claims (20)
Priority Applications (5)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/552,174 US7619528B2 (en) | 2006-10-24 | 2006-10-24 | Methods and apparatus for detecting and identifying improper antitheft device deactivation |
AU2007221741A AU2007221741B2 (en) | 2006-10-24 | 2007-09-28 | A retail checkout terminal and a method of transaction processing and security tag deactivation analysis |
EP07253998A EP1916637A1 (en) | 2006-10-24 | 2007-10-09 | Methods and apparatus for detecting and identifying improper antitheft device deactivation |
JP2007269768A JP2008108253A (en) | 2006-10-24 | 2007-10-17 | Retail checkout terminal device, and transaction processing method |
CN2007101819532A CN101178828B (en) | 2006-10-24 | 2007-10-17 | Methods and apparatus for detecting and identifying improper antitheft device deactivation |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/552,174 US7619528B2 (en) | 2006-10-24 | 2006-10-24 | Methods and apparatus for detecting and identifying improper antitheft device deactivation |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20080094218A1 true US20080094218A1 (en) | 2008-04-24 |
US7619528B2 US7619528B2 (en) | 2009-11-17 |
Family
ID=39137205
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/552,174 Active 2028-01-11 US7619528B2 (en) | 2006-10-24 | 2006-10-24 | Methods and apparatus for detecting and identifying improper antitheft device deactivation |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US7619528B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1916637A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2008108253A (en) |
CN (1) | CN101178828B (en) |
AU (1) | AU2007221741B2 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040113791A1 (en) * | 2002-03-18 | 2004-06-17 | Psc Scanning, Inc. | Operation monitoring and enhanced host communications in systems employing electronic article surveillance and RFID tags |
US20100148967A1 (en) * | 2005-02-08 | 2010-06-17 | Datalogic Scanning, Inc. | Integrated data reader and electronic article surveillance (eas) system |
CN103237051A (en) * | 2013-03-22 | 2013-08-07 | 深圳市九洲电器有限公司 | Product information providing system, product information providing method, server and terminal |
US20130339221A1 (en) * | 2010-11-02 | 2013-12-19 | I E R | Method and system for the automated management of objects provided with rfid tags |
Families Citing this family (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7852197B2 (en) * | 2007-06-08 | 2010-12-14 | Sensomatic Electronics, LLC | System and method for inhibiting detection of deactivated labels using detection filters having an adaptive threshold |
US7973660B2 (en) * | 2008-07-23 | 2011-07-05 | Sensormatic Electronics, LLC | Electronic article surveillance deactivator with multiple label detection and method thereof |
JP2011081619A (en) * | 2009-10-07 | 2011-04-21 | Toshiba Tec Corp | Sales data processing terminal and program |
JP5358409B2 (en) * | 2009-11-30 | 2013-12-04 | 富士通フロンテック株式会社 | Self-checkout terminal device, self-checkout system, detector activation state notification method, and commodity transaction restriction method |
US20110254687A1 (en) * | 2010-04-15 | 2011-10-20 | Nokia Corporation | Method and apparatus for activating a device |
US10592904B2 (en) * | 2017-06-29 | 2020-03-17 | Ncr Corporation | Card shimmer detection |
KR101983949B1 (en) * | 2018-10-05 | 2019-05-29 | 주식회사 피아이코드 | Apparatus for alerting theft in counter and providing method thereof |
US11395142B2 (en) | 2020-01-31 | 2022-07-19 | Lowe's Companies, Inc. | System and techniques for secret key transfer in benefit denial system |
US10701561B1 (en) | 2020-01-31 | 2020-06-30 | Lowe's Companies, Inc. | System and techniques for secret key transfer in benefit denial system |
US10721224B1 (en) | 2020-01-31 | 2020-07-21 | Lowe's Companies, Inc. | System and techniques for trans-account device key transfer in benefit denial system |
Citations (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5745036A (en) * | 1996-09-12 | 1998-04-28 | Checkpoint Systems, Inc. | Electronic article security system for store which uses intelligent security tags and transaction data |
US6025780A (en) * | 1997-07-25 | 2000-02-15 | Checkpoint Systems, Inc. | RFID tags which are virtually activated and/or deactivated and apparatus and methods of using same in an electronic security system |
US6333692B1 (en) * | 1999-07-06 | 2001-12-25 | Ats Money Systems Inc. | Security tag deactivation system |
US20020105424A1 (en) * | 2001-02-07 | 2002-08-08 | Jorge Alicot | Rfid reader with integrated display for use in a product tag system |
US20030075602A1 (en) * | 2001-10-23 | 2003-04-24 | Ncr Corporation | Automatic electronic article surveillance for self-checkout |
US20040113791A1 (en) * | 2002-03-18 | 2004-06-17 | Psc Scanning, Inc. | Operation monitoring and enhanced host communications in systems employing electronic article surveillance and RFID tags |
US6809645B1 (en) * | 2002-08-30 | 2004-10-26 | Ncr Corporation | System and method for updating a product database based on surveillance tag detection at a self-checkout station |
US20050040950A1 (en) * | 2003-08-23 | 2005-02-24 | Clucas Robert A. | Method and apparatus to detect a plurality of security tags |
US20050219053A1 (en) * | 2002-02-01 | 2005-10-06 | Psc Scanning, Inc. | Systems and methods for optical reading and EAS tag sensing and deactivating at retail checkout |
US20060175402A1 (en) * | 2005-02-10 | 2006-08-10 | Sensormatic Electronics Corporation | Techniques to reduce false alarms, invalid security deactivation, and internal theft |
US20070008102A1 (en) * | 2003-02-21 | 2007-01-11 | Sensormatic Electronics Corporation | Integrated electronic article surveillance (EAS) and point of sale (POS) system and method |
US20080065496A1 (en) * | 2006-08-29 | 2008-03-13 | Ncr Corporation | Methods and Apparatus for Managing RFID and Other Data |
Family Cites Families (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3938044A (en) * | 1973-11-14 | 1976-02-10 | Lichtblau G J | Antenna apparatus for an electronic security system |
GB8822932D0 (en) * | 1988-09-30 | 1988-11-09 | Scient Generics Ltd | System for verification of de-activation of anti-theft markers |
WO2002071346A2 (en) | 2001-02-28 | 2002-09-12 | Optimal Robotics Corp. | Self-checkout system with anti-theft deactivation device |
-
2006
- 2006-10-24 US US11/552,174 patent/US7619528B2/en active Active
-
2007
- 2007-09-28 AU AU2007221741A patent/AU2007221741B2/en active Active
- 2007-10-09 EP EP07253998A patent/EP1916637A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2007-10-17 JP JP2007269768A patent/JP2008108253A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2007-10-17 CN CN2007101819532A patent/CN101178828B/en active Active
Patent Citations (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5745036A (en) * | 1996-09-12 | 1998-04-28 | Checkpoint Systems, Inc. | Electronic article security system for store which uses intelligent security tags and transaction data |
US6025780A (en) * | 1997-07-25 | 2000-02-15 | Checkpoint Systems, Inc. | RFID tags which are virtually activated and/or deactivated and apparatus and methods of using same in an electronic security system |
US6333692B1 (en) * | 1999-07-06 | 2001-12-25 | Ats Money Systems Inc. | Security tag deactivation system |
US20020011933A1 (en) * | 1999-07-06 | 2002-01-31 | Kenneth Andersen | Security tag deactivation system |
US6476720B2 (en) * | 1999-07-06 | 2002-11-05 | Ats Money Systems, Inc. | Security tag deactivation system |
US20020105424A1 (en) * | 2001-02-07 | 2002-08-08 | Jorge Alicot | Rfid reader with integrated display for use in a product tag system |
US20030075602A1 (en) * | 2001-10-23 | 2003-04-24 | Ncr Corporation | Automatic electronic article surveillance for self-checkout |
US7170414B2 (en) * | 2002-02-01 | 2007-01-30 | Psc Scanning, Inc. | Systems and methods for optical reading and EAS tag sensing and deactivating at retail checkout |
US7495564B2 (en) * | 2002-02-01 | 2009-02-24 | Datalogic Scanning, Inc. | Systems and methods for data reading and EAS tag sensing and deactivating at retail checkout |
US20050219053A1 (en) * | 2002-02-01 | 2005-10-06 | Psc Scanning, Inc. | Systems and methods for optical reading and EAS tag sensing and deactivating at retail checkout |
US20070210922A1 (en) * | 2002-02-01 | 2007-09-13 | Psc Scanning, Inc. | Systems and methods for data reading and EAS tag sensing and deactivating at retail checkout |
US20040113791A1 (en) * | 2002-03-18 | 2004-06-17 | Psc Scanning, Inc. | Operation monitoring and enhanced host communications in systems employing electronic article surveillance and RFID tags |
US6809645B1 (en) * | 2002-08-30 | 2004-10-26 | Ncr Corporation | System and method for updating a product database based on surveillance tag detection at a self-checkout station |
US20070008102A1 (en) * | 2003-02-21 | 2007-01-11 | Sensormatic Electronics Corporation | Integrated electronic article surveillance (EAS) and point of sale (POS) system and method |
US20050040950A1 (en) * | 2003-08-23 | 2005-02-24 | Clucas Robert A. | Method and apparatus to detect a plurality of security tags |
US20060175402A1 (en) * | 2005-02-10 | 2006-08-10 | Sensormatic Electronics Corporation | Techniques to reduce false alarms, invalid security deactivation, and internal theft |
US20080065496A1 (en) * | 2006-08-29 | 2008-03-13 | Ncr Corporation | Methods and Apparatus for Managing RFID and Other Data |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040113791A1 (en) * | 2002-03-18 | 2004-06-17 | Psc Scanning, Inc. | Operation monitoring and enhanced host communications in systems employing electronic article surveillance and RFID tags |
US7527198B2 (en) * | 2002-03-18 | 2009-05-05 | Datalogic Scanning, Inc. | Operation monitoring and enhanced host communications in systems employing electronic article surveillance and RFID tags |
US20100001863A1 (en) * | 2002-03-18 | 2010-01-07 | Salim Mohamed A | Operation monitoring and enhanced host communications in systems employing electronic article surveillance and rfid tags |
US8006904B2 (en) * | 2002-03-18 | 2011-08-30 | Datalogic Scanning, Inc. | Operation monitoring and enhanced host communications in systems employing electronic article surveillance and RFID tags |
US20100148967A1 (en) * | 2005-02-08 | 2010-06-17 | Datalogic Scanning, Inc. | Integrated data reader and electronic article surveillance (eas) system |
US20130339221A1 (en) * | 2010-11-02 | 2013-12-19 | I E R | Method and system for the automated management of objects provided with rfid tags |
US9105024B2 (en) * | 2010-11-02 | 2015-08-11 | Ier | Method and system for the automated management of objects provided with RFID tags |
CN103237051A (en) * | 2013-03-22 | 2013-08-07 | 深圳市九洲电器有限公司 | Product information providing system, product information providing method, server and terminal |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1916637A1 (en) | 2008-04-30 |
JP2008108253A (en) | 2008-05-08 |
CN101178828A (en) | 2008-05-14 |
US7619528B2 (en) | 2009-11-17 |
AU2007221741B2 (en) | 2011-06-30 |
CN101178828B (en) | 2011-10-12 |
AU2007221741A1 (en) | 2008-05-08 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US7619528B2 (en) | Methods and apparatus for detecting and identifying improper antitheft device deactivation | |
EP1402495B1 (en) | Complete integrated self-checkout system and method | |
CN108109293B (en) | Commodity anti-theft settlement method and device and electronic equipment | |
US6333692B1 (en) | Security tag deactivation system | |
US6598790B1 (en) | Self-service checkout | |
US7229015B2 (en) | Self-checkout system | |
MX2007006209A (en) | System and method for integrating point of sale and electronic article surveillance data. | |
US6497361B1 (en) | Apparatus and method for deactivating electronic article surveillance in a retail self-checkout terminal | |
AU2002257364A1 (en) | Complete integrated self-checkout system and method | |
US20190311346A1 (en) | Alert controller for loss prevention | |
JP2006309382A (en) | Article monitoring method, article monitoring device, article monitoring system and ic tag | |
US7973660B2 (en) | Electronic article surveillance deactivator with multiple label detection and method thereof | |
CN113129501B (en) | Anti-theft early warning method for unmanned retail terminal | |
CN112581669B (en) | Tracking system and tracking method | |
JP4532636B2 (en) | Self-checkout system for product sales | |
KR102525381B1 (en) | System based on user behavior analysis and situational awareness using artificial intelligence | |
WO2022190101A1 (en) | System and methods for payment verification before exit | |
CN111798613A (en) | Intelligent vending ecosystem with multi-dimensional commodity authenticity identification function | |
CN111402533A (en) | Anti-theft method and system for unmanned store |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: NCR CORPORATION, OHIO Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:KOBRES, ERICK CHRISTIAN;REEL/FRAME:018426/0340 Effective date: 20061023 |
|
STCF | Information on status: patent grant |
Free format text: PATENTED CASE |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 4 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, ILLINOIS Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNORS:NCR CORPORATION;NCR INTERNATIONAL, INC.;REEL/FRAME:032034/0010 Effective date: 20140106 Owner name: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNORS:NCR CORPORATION;NCR INTERNATIONAL, INC.;REEL/FRAME:032034/0010 Effective date: 20140106 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., ILLINOIS Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNORS:NCR CORPORATION;NCR INTERNATIONAL, INC.;REEL/FRAME:038646/0001 Effective date: 20160331 |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 8 |
|
MAFP | Maintenance fee payment |
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 12TH YEAR, LARGE ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M1553); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY Year of fee payment: 12 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: NCR VOYIX CORPORATION, GEORGIA Free format text: RELEASE OF PATENT SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT;REEL/FRAME:065346/0531 Effective date: 20231016 Owner name: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, NORTH CAROLINA Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:NCR VOYIX CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:065346/0168 Effective date: 20231016 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: NCR VOYIX CORPORATION, GEORGIA Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:NCR CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:065820/0704 Effective date: 20231013 |